Tag: Ariel Helwani

Cain Velasquez Rules Out Fighting In 2017

Hours after word arrived that the UFC’s biggest name may not fight in MMA in 2017, a former UFC champion has revealed he’s planning on doing just that. Former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez revealed to Ariel Helwani that he would be out for the remainder of 2017 and hoped to be healthy at some […]

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Hours after word arrived that the UFC’s biggest name may not fight in MMA in 2017, a former UFC champion has revealed he’s planning on doing just that.

Former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez revealed to Ariel Helwani that he would be out for the remainder of 2017 and hoped to be healthy at some time in 2018 at today’s UFC 215 open workouts in Edmonton, Alberta.

Velasquez detailed how far he was from recovering from the back issues that prompted the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) to deem him unfit to fight heading into his UFC 207 rematch with Fabricio Werdum, claiming that he’s not ready to make his comeback yet. With a son on the way soon, Velasquez wants to be there for his arrival this fall (via MMA Fighting):

“I’m close. I’m not there yet, but I’m close. And also, focused on this time as far as the baby that we have coing along. I wanted to be there for that, he’s due in November, so it’s been a really good process of healing, being with the family, you know what I mean?”

As for his anticipated return, a situation his fans have become all-too-familiar with in recent years, Velasquez stated he won’t return until he is fully healed up:

“I want to be one hundred percent for the fans, and I need to stop messing around and coming back too early. I can’t do that, I can’t afford that anymore. I gotta be a hundred percent ready to come back, and I’ll do tjhat.”

When he does return, however, Velasquez doesn’t have an opponent in mind, as his team hasn’t discussed any potential bouts:

“That’s not up to me. I’ll ask for whoever. We haven’t talked.”

No doubt one of the best heavyweights to ever compete in mixed martial arts, Velasquez’ career has unfortunately shifted from it being a foregone conclusion that he would be the greatest to a discussion of if he can even ever fight again after countless injuries – mostly from the hard-charging training he defends – have limited him to just two fights since October 2013. He says he’s not done yet and still loves going to the gym to train:

“I want to. I love it. I love fighting, you know?. My favorite part of my job is to go into the gym everyday and work out. I love working out, I’ve never said, ‘Oh, working out sucks,’ I love it, you know what I mean? So, I want to return. Just competing, man. Yeah, I miss competing”

While he still loves all the aspects of fighting, Velasquez closed by saying he just isn’t ready to return this year:

“This year? Probably not.”

You can check out his full interview here:

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Report: Ariel Helwani Banned From First Leg Of McGregor vs. Mayweather World Tour

It looks like the first leg of the awaited Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather world tour will be without one of MMA’s biggest media personalities. With the hype and trash talk set to get started today from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, at 5:30 p.m. EST /2:30 p.m. PST, lines are reportedly out […]

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It looks like the first leg of the awaited Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather world tour will be without one of MMA’s biggest media personalities.

With the hype and trash talk set to get started today from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, at 5:30 p.m. EST /2:30 p.m. PST, lines are reportedly out the door for the anticipated event. But when the questions do start from the press, MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani will apparently not be with them.

Helwani just tweeted that he would no longer be working for SHOWTIME Sports as the UFC specifically requested to have him removed from the opening leg of the tour, after which he expressed his disappointment at their decision:

Helwani also revealed that he had taken a late flight from New York City to be in L.A. for the tour, and was dealt the news when he arrived. Even with that disappointment, however, he reassured fans he would be at future tour stops in Toronto and New York:

If you’ll remember, Helwani’s beef with the UFC runs deep, and he was notoriously barred from covering last year’s UFC 199, also in Los Angeles, when he broke the massive story that former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar was returning at the landmark UFC 200 hours before it was to be officially announced during the pay-per-view (PPV) main card.

He then opened up about his tepid past with the UFC in an emotional segment on his weekly show “The MMA Hour” the following Monday, discussing his tenuous-at-best relationship with the previous UFC regime and adding that it even once became physical became him, Dana White, and Lorenzo Fertitta.

It appears that dislike for Helwani’s style of journalism has carried over into the new regime, as well.

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Report: Cyborg Punches Angela Magana At Fighter Retreat

Cris Cyborg is doing more than enough to stay in the public eye and earn a high-profile UFC bout. The former Invicta FC featherweight champion, who is far and away the best 145-pound female fighter in the sport and arguably the most dominant pound-for-pound woman in MMA overall, reportedly took offense to some incredibly personal tweets […]

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Cris Cyborg is doing more than enough to stay in the public eye and earn a high-profile UFC bout.

The former Invicta FC featherweight champion, who is far and away the best 145-pound female fighter in the sport and arguably the most dominant pound-for-pound woman in MMA overall, reportedly took offense to some incredibly personal tweets from The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) competitor and UFC women’s strawweight Angela Magana.

And according to a report from Ariel Helwani, when Cyborg ran into “Her Majesty” at this weekend’s UFC fighter retreat in Las Vegas, she had enough of the abuse and confronted Magana. Things escalated from there and Cyborg ended up punching Magana:

Apparently Magana was rocked but did not fall to the ground from the punch before security broke up the altercation:

After the scuffle, Helwani said tensions remained high in the area and security was present to control the situation:

But Magana’s close friend and fellow UFC women’s strawweight Bec Rawlings replied to explain that Magana wasn’t rocked and took the punch well despite having a busted lip:

Long feared as the most dangerous knockout striker to ever fight in women’s MMA, Cyborg has had trouble finding opponents who are even close to her size or skill level, leading to the suggestions that she has never had legitimate competition in the cage.

She’s currently campaigning for a bout with current Invicta FC featherweight champion Megan Anderson in an effort to show everyone she can defeat an elite fighter her size (well, in her weight class), but today, it seems she’s still taking it to women who are quite a bit smaller than she is.

But hey, it’s easy to see why Justino lost her cool after all the shaming social media posts she made about Cyborg over the past few years.

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Live: Watch Nate Diaz’s Special Interview With Ariel Helwani

Fan favorite lightweight Nate Diaz has been out of action since his thrilling five-round majority decision loss to rival Conor McGregor at last August’s UFC 202. The enigmatic Stockton slugger has largely stayed out of the public eye since aside from demanding he would only fight McGregor in a trilogy bout, even demanding a $20

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Fan favorite lightweight Nate Diaz has been out of action since his thrilling five-round majority decision loss to rival Conor McGregor at last August’s UFC 202.

The enigmatic Stockton slugger has largely stayed out of the public eye since aside from demanding he would only fight McGregor in a trilogy bout, even demanding a $20 million fee to do so at one point. He also reportedly turned down a fight with former 155-pound champ Eddie Alvarez at next week’s (Sat., May 13, 2017) UFC 211 from Dallas, prompting many to speculate when – or even if – the younger Diaz brother will return to the octagon.

McGregor’s manager, who also manages top-ranked UFC lightweight contender Tony Ferguson, thinks Diaz needs to ‘earn’ a rematch with McGregor by fighting and defeating ‘El Cucuy’ while the Irish champion is off pursuing a boxing match with Floyd Mayweather Jr.

It’s created quite the messy set of circumstances, one that MMA fans hope Diaz can sort out during his appearance on a special episode of “The MMA Hour” with Ariel Helwani today. Watch the video courtesy of MMA Fighting’s official YouTube page starting live at 4 p.m. ET:

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John Kavanagh Wants “Wonderboy” Next For Gunnar Nelson

Gunnar Nelson was impressive in his last outing against Alan Jouban on Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 107 co-headliner, and John Kavanagh sees “Wonderboy” as his pupil’s next step. SBG’s Icelander Nelson lit up the O2 Arena in London, England with a slick second-round submission which earned him a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus. Nelson’s […]

Gunnar Nelson was impressive in his last outing against Alan Jouban on Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 107 co-headliner, and John Kavanagh sees “Wonderboy” as his pupil’s next step. SBG’s Icelander Nelson lit up the O2 Arena in London, England with a slick second-round submission which earned him a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus. Nelson’s […]

“Business and Pleasure” Behind the Scenes With Conor McGregor

McGregor once again reminds us of the lavish lifestyle enjoyed by MMA’s premier superstar. UFC’s lightweight champion posted a video on his official Instagram account, which gives a fly-on-the-wall look at his recent exploits in Manchester, England. The video sees McGregor arriving in his private jet, prior to rolling on to meeting fans in at […]

McGregor once again reminds us of the lavish lifestyle enjoyed by MMA’s premier superstar. UFC’s lightweight champion posted a video on his official Instagram account, which gives a fly-on-the-wall look at his recent exploits in Manchester, England. The video sees McGregor arriving in his private jet, prior to rolling on to meeting fans in at […]